Don Was and The Pan Detroit Ensemble Pay Tribute To Bobby Weir – Go Deep On ‘Blues For Allah’ With Tom Hamilton At Ardmore Music Hall (SHOW REVIEW)

Anticipation had been building for two days when fans got word through social media and the Philadelphia Inquirer that Don Was and The Pan Detroit Ensemble (PDE) were going to play the Graterful Dead’s Blues for Allah in its entirety in tribute to the late Bob Weir at Ardmore Hall. The sold-out audience however got even more.

The 2.5-hour-plus show took place on Wednesday, January 14,  four days after Weir’s Wolf Brothers cohort, Was, learned about his passing. The proceeding began when only Was, drummer Jeff Canady, and Dead enthusiast saxophonist Dave McMurray took the stage. Was began by reading a passage in tribute to Weir, using Weir’s words, “You go up there and make some good music for everybody. That’s what we’re going to do tonight, with love and as soulfully as we can.”  He then announced a special surprise by bringing guitarist Tom Hamilton of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead  to the stage, saying, “Sing along if you want.” The audience was primed.

Hamilton fronted the scaled-down ensemble and launched into “Easy Wind,” “Cassidy,” and a lengthy jam on “Truckin’,” as the audience gleefully sang each lyric. Was and drummer Canady were formidable on rhythm, with McMurray providing some fills, while Hamilton’s finger picking was exceptional. The full nine-piece ensemble, sans vocalist Staeffanie Christi’an, entered the stage for a rousing version of “Brokedown Palace.”

Hamilton departed, and the PDE delivered rousing, slightly extended versions of Was/Not Was songs and a couple from Groove in the Face of Adversity. Christi’an is a powerhouse, gyrating vocalist who immediately connected with the audience. The band was on fire, driven by Was’s sturdy basslines, as they played Was’s “you Asked, I Came” and Hank Williams’s “I Ain’t Got Nothin’ But Time.”

The group features musicians who grew up playing together, listening to the same radio stations, and frequenting the same bars. Was has real history with all of them. He has known Blue Note artist and saxophonist Dave McMurray for 45 years. McMurray, along with keyboardist Luis Resto (Eminem), played in Was (Not Was). Resto and guitarist Wayne Gerard played on both of McMurray’s Blue Note releases. The other ensemble members are trombonist Vincent Chandler, trumpeter John Douglas, drummer Jeff Canaday, percussionist Mahindi Masai, and the aforementioned vocalist Stefffanie Christi’an.

The PDE segued directly into Blues for Allah, opening with  “Help on the Way.”..When they reached “Franklin’s Tower,’ the audience sang along with Christi’an on that famous line “Roll away the dew” as they did on the other vocal tracks “Help Is On the Way,” “Crazy Fingers,” and “The Music Never Stopped.” The jazz-fusion-oriented album has several instrumental tracks, allowing the musicians to solo, often with touches of psychedelia. The highlight was the closing, extremely funky take on “Shakedown Street” from the 1978 album of the same name.  It was Dead-Detroit style. The band encored with Curtis Mayfield’s statement of defiant patriotism in the face of oppression, “This Is My Country,” also on the band’s debut album.

This is a show not to be missed. Other shows may not include this full breadth of Dead material, but you can count on “Franklin’s Tower” and more. Saxophonist McMurray has two Blue Note albums of instrumental Dead songs. The band knows the material cold. Catch them. The tour is ongoing.

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